Activated sign



p 16, 1952 A. E. MILLARD 2,610,424

ACTIVATED SI-GN 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed June 14, 1949 INVENTOR. APZII '5. MIL 1. ago

' /s ATTORNEYS A. E. MHLLARD Sept. 16, 1952 ACTIVATED SIGN 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Jupe 14, 1949 m R.L maw MM 6 w Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STAT PATENT OFFICE;

. I 2,610,424: U Ii ACTIVATED SIGN A-rzai-E'. Millard, Dayton, Ohio nimiieati naimem, 1949;; seriai'Ner 912;;9'90 llGlaainr; 01. roe- 139)" This'invention relatesto a" display-sign andmore particularly to "an activated displaysign':

An object of this inventioniis to'providasign" such. that the characters: used. in conveying a message are mounted. for movement torthereby attract attention; This has. been. accomplishedby providing a. motorused in drii'iingithefcha'r 'acte'rs; the motor beingmonntedtotnerear or thesign and so mounted tliai'iitactivatessnit able link mechanism driven througltcranks; earns and the like or a.beltmechaziismiusedin'oscillan' ing, reciprocating or rotating. the; supports 'for" the characters.

Another object of" this invention to provide a movable display. sign Whfeifi' UTE character's forming the wo'rdsiused'in conveying'tiie mes= sage do not all moveint the" same: direction and in the same manner simultaneously;

Other' objects and" advantages resideiinf the construction of" parts; the combinationtthereof" and the mode oi"op'eration; .,as.will become. more" apparent from" the following description;

Referring to the drawings; Figure 1, iS'a" front elevational view ofthe'preferrecl'embodiment:

Figure 2 is" a: fragmentary; enlarged; rear elevational view of the sign disclosed inFigurei 1 Figure 3 is an enlarged;end"elevationaiviewof the sign disclosedin Figure" 1.

Figure 4 is' a front" elevationalview' of armadification.

Figure 5"is'arear elevationalfviewpf the modificationdisclose'd in Figures; Figure'e HESS'TE'EBIT taken substantially on the" sectiondine' 5-5" of Figure 6.

Figure 6. is a vertical, cross" sectional view, taken substantiallyon' thelinerfi -t ofFigure 4;.

Figure 'l'is a rear plan viewo'fanotliermodification.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary viewtakensnbstan tially on the line 8 80f Figure 7; witli parts shown in section.

Figure 9'is a fragmentary'cross sectionalview taken substantially on the-line*B FOFFIgureWZ In the drawings, the" reference'rharacter lo" designates a billboard panel or a signboard} mounted in any suitable manner uponsuitable posts or supports, not shown. On thefa'cethere is mounted a pluralitv(if-letters l'l which" are mountedupon-stubsl'iafts'- l4 projecting-through the pane1 ID.- Thestubsiia'fts l t are-journalled' in. suitable bearings mounted' in the" panel or board It: Crank arms" l6; one fc'ri-e'achm'ftlie stubshafts" l4; arekeyed'to thysiiiibsl'iafts; Each of the crank-arms l6ha's fixedly attaclied'there= to a crank in lt seated iirtiiesibt 'zlfin'an an 55 inst-ably'meunted bracketzz fixedlysecured bya set screw" 2-3; as cle'arl'y"seen inFigure 2-, to arod or" bar--' 24 mounted for" recipro'cator'y movement in suit'aiilebearings'ici One'end of the-par- 24- 5 ispivotally'attached to-a link ze jeumaued upon a crank pin 30* fik'edlyattachedtoa wheel 32 keyedto a shaft-1 3M Theshait- 34" is rotatedtlirough a' suitable geanre-ducing" mechanism by an electric motor 36 mounted upon i a suitable bracket attachedto the rear of the'bi-llbioard" Hi.

From the foregoing, it, can readily.'b'e-seen that theelectric" motor" r'eciproca'tes the" rod or bar i'dit'o' thereby'reciprocat'e brackets2'2i so astooscillate theerank arms" l6; .tliereliyoscillating" the sign from the bright/ sunlight:

the-shafts, lfi-Itqrcause the letters I {t'o move from the" run linep'o'sition' shown in Figure" 1 into" the dotsdash position and then return to "the initialposition: Tli'eselettersmay'bemountewfor'oscillatio'n' near the" centeroi gravity, as" shown,

or the letters may be oscillated'from' thebase or" from" the top; depending entirelyupon" the" desir'e'd'requirements: j

Suitable'indirectlightingjis preferably'provided' fcri'tliesigns; Itmayrconsistoffiuorescent'tuloes 40 extendingi'alongi'the margins of 'thesign' and shielded byg'a cap-pingmembendzisecuredtotiie marginsfiof'the billboard. 10. Furthermore; an awning-like memher 44? may extend along the" top oftl'ie sigmso" as to'at leastfpartiallysha'de in. the modification. disclosed in Figures, 4,3 5 and'6} a billboard ha's been shoWYfwhicfi'isi provided with a series ofl'etter's 52., which; in thisparticular disclosure, spell the word BARK? and asecondfiseriesofletters Sfspelling out-the word LOCK. The letters; P'-A'-R"- K and- L-Q -C -KT- are mounted for o'sci llation, so that" when the letters-P'-ARi -K" move. in l. a clockwise direction,v the letters Li-d-C K rotate in a; counter-clockwise direction. The letter NII' designated :bythe-reference character 56, ismounte'd for: vertical,. reci-proeatory movement and the price sign SB is mountedl for rotation. The mechanism-ion causingtliese. various movements will now be dscribedI A motor. has. its output shaf connecte'dito a gear x 62." driving a, crankshaft 6'4? This crankshaft '64is .provi'dedwith" twodiametric'ally' disposed offset crank portions 66* and-o8 and-sup pivotally attached" to the lowei" end" of a link- 85 attached to a stubshaft 82 supporting a letter on the opposite side of the billboard. A pair of cables 84 and 86 attached to opposite ends of the link 80 are used in actuating a link 83 mounted upon a shaft 90 supporting another letter on the opposite side of the billboard. A pair of links 92 are attached to the cable 8 in any suitable manner. Th cables 84 and 85 are tensioned sufiiciently to properly actuate the links. The links'92 are connected to the shafts 94 also projecting through the billboard and supporting letters on the opposite side thereof. It can readily be seen that the letters supported on the shafts 82, 90 and 94 oscillat in unison, in that as the crankshaft 64 rotates, the links at, 88 and 92 oscillate in unison.

The offset crank portion 58 actuatesa link 4 crank member I89 pivoted at I82, the short end of the bell-crank member being connected to a connecting rod I84 pivotally attached to a pin I86 in a link I88 mounted upon a pivot member I96. The pivot member I90 projects through the panel I50 and supports the letter R, identified by the reference character I92. A rod I94 attached to a connecting unit I96 pivotally connected to pivot member I99 is connected to a plurality of links 200, one foreachof the other letters in the same word located on one side of the letter N. The links 200 are each connected 7 to a stubshaft 2B2, passing through the panel I50 I pivotally attached to the lower end of a'link Hi2 keyed to a stubshaft I04 projecting through the billboard and supporting a letter. The opposite end of the link I02 has attached theretocables I08 and IE3 connecting the ends of the link I62 to the ends of the link IIIl fixedly attached to a stubshaft I I2 projecting through the billboard and supporting a suitable letter. Links II I are attached to the cable Iilfi and are fixedly attached to stubshaft I I 6, also projecting through the billboard and supporting a letter. Thus, the links I02, III) and H4 oscillate in unison, in that these are driven by the link Hill actuated by the crankshaft.

The links 80, 88 and 92, located'to the right of the crankshaft 64, oscillate in. a clockwise direction when the links I02, H9 and II4 oscillate in' a counterclockwise direction and vice versa. In other words, when the letters spelling the word fPARK, as seen in Figure l, rotate in a clockwise direction, the letters spelling the word LOCK rotate in a counter-clockwise direction and vice versa. 7

The letter N," identified by reference character 55, is mounted upon a stubshaft I25 fixedly attached to the cam follower I22 by a T member I28. The cam follower I22 is driven upwardly by the cam I2 and actuated downwardly by the compression spring I24 mounted between the bearing I25 and the T member I28 used in connecting the stubshaft' I20 to the cam follower I22. As the cam I2 is rotated by the crankshaft 64, it can readily be seen that the letter N moves upwardly and downwardly between the letters forming the word PARK" and the letters forming the word LOCK.

The price sign 58 is mounted upon a stubshaft I30 having fixedly attached thereto a V-belt pulley I32, so as to be driven by the V-belt I34 passing over the pulley I0 fixedly secured to the crankshaft 64. This causes the price sign to rotate. It has been found that twenty-five revolutions per minute produce very effective and pleasing results.

Referring to the modification disclosed in Figures 7, 8 and 9, the panel I is provided with a bracket I52 supporting an electric motor I54 driving a worm I56 engaging a worm gear I58 keyed to a shaft I60. The shaft ISO is provided with a crank arm I62 pivotally attached to a pitman or connecting rod I54 pivotally attached to a cross arm I56 guided for vertical, reciprocatory movement by a pair of pins or stubshafts I'Ili mounted for vertical reciprocatory movement in the slots H2 in the panel I50. Members I15 support the letter N, identified by the reference numeral I14, as shown in the drawings. Each member I'IU passes through a slot in the belland supporting a letter on the opposite side of thepanel. It can readily be seen that as the motor I54 rotates, the letter N will reciprocate upwardly and downwardly in a vertical path, due to the fact that the bell-crank is oscillated about'the pivot I82 by the connecting rod I64. The letters on one side of the letter N will move in a clockwise direction when the letters on the opposite side of the letter. N move in a counter-clockwise direction and vice versa.

The shaft I50 has keyed thereto a V-belt pulley 2H] driving a V-belt'2l2 passing over a V-belt pulley 2 I4 keyed to a shaft 2! 5 actuating a crank arm 2I8i provided with a crank pin220 having mounted thereon a price sign 222. The lower portionof the price sign 222 is provided with a weight 224 holding the price sign in an upright position at all times, but causing the price sign to travel through a circular path swept out or generated by the crank pin 220.

Thus, it can be seen that three movements are transferred to the characters on the board simultaneously, that is, the letter N travels in a vertical, reciprocatory path, the letters forming the words PARK and LOCK oscillate or rock about their pivots, the letters of one of these words rocking in a clockwise direction while the letters of the other word rock in a counter-clockwise direction, and vice versa. The characters forming the price sign always remain erect, while traveling through a circular path.

'Instead of using only letters, characters may be used to attract attention. The letters spelling out the words, the price sign, et cetera, have merely been used for the purpose of illustration, in that the sign is adaptable for use with other words, slogans or symbols.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview. of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

An actuating mechanism for use in a movable sign assembly including a panel member having a plurality of shafts projecting therethrough and letters fixedly attached to theshafts, the letters being located on the front side of the panel member, said actuating mechanism ,includinga plurality of crank arms one for each of the shafts, one end of each of said crank arms being fixedly attached to its shaft and located on the rear side of the panel member, the oppositeend of each of said crank arms being provided with a pin fixedly mounted therein and extending parallel to the shafts, an actuating rod, bearings mounted upon the rear side of the panel member in which bearings said rod is mounted for reciprocatory movement along a straight line. said rod having a plurality of brackets one for each of the crank arms, each of said brackets being provided with a slot extending normal to the direction of movement of the rod, each of said brackets including a set screw for adjustably attaching the brackets to said red, the pins fixedly attached to the crank arms being seated in the slots in the brackets, an electric motor, a wheel mounted upon the armature shaft of the motor, a crank pin fixedly attached to the wheel, a crank arm having one end attached to the crank pin and the other end pivotally attached to the rod so as to impart a reciprocatory movement to the rod, the rod in turn actuating the brackets oscillating the first mentioned crank arms which crank arms have 6 an effective constant length so as to thereby oscillate the letters from the reciprocatory movement of the rod.

- ARZA E. MILLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,556,133 Stanley Oct. 6, 1925 1,804,297 Wintz .1 May 5, 1931 2,135,483 Cargili NOV. 8, 1938 2,258,601 Ferreby Oct. 14, 1941 

